One of the largest museums in the world, the State Hermitage, occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the Neva River. The main building is the Winter Palace which used to be the official residence of the Russian Tsars. To see all the exhibits treasured in the Hermitage is just impossible – it has been calculated that, if you spend a minute at one item and spend 8 hours in the Hermitage daily, it will take you almost 15 years to view all the museum’s exhibits! To visit all 350exhibion rooms would entail walking distance of about 10 km (over 6 miles).

The Hermitage history starts with Catherine the Great when she began purchasing famous artworks. As her collection was growing through the 1760s, Catherine commissioned the French architect Jean – Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe to build an extension to the Winter Palace. The building was completed in 1769. In the tradition of Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth, she called the structure "my hermitage". In 1770 she commissioned another major extension. Built in two phases, by Yury Velten, this expansion was known as the Old Hermitage.

The collection was growing and enriched with other artworks such as from Greek culture. The imperial Hermitage was proclaimed property of the Soviet state after the October revolution of 1917. The range of its exhibits was further expanded when private art collections from several palaces of the Russian Tsars and numerous private mansions were being nationalised and then redistributed among major Soviet state museums.

The collection of Western European art, numbering over 600,000 items, is considered to be one of the finest in the world. It has excellent examples of Italian High Renaissance art, French Impressionists, fabulous treasures from Siberia and Central Asia, Egyptian and Classical antiquities, Persian and Chinese masterpieces among many others.

Once you are in the Hermitage, walking around the exhibition halls, you will feel as if you travel through time and epochs. You will admire the richest collection of ancient and early medieval items, works of art from Ancient Greece and Rome, fabulous treasures of oriental culture and wonderful European art.

We hope that you will remember your visit to the State Hermitage museum as one of the best experiences of your life.

Please note, you can stay on and admire the collection after your guided excursion.

Snowmobile Safari to the Snowy Domes of Kizhi (KL-05)
You will start this exciting 6-day tour from the beautiful “Venice of the North”, St. Petersburg. In a very short time you can take in the history and culture of this truly unique and memorable city and explore its major attractions. From there you will visit Karelia, in the Russian Northwest, with a vast areas covered in forests, thousands of rivers and lakes, two National Parks and several Nature Reserves. Among the numerous cultural sights of Karelia, Kizhi Island is the most famous, with a unique complex of wooden buildings, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List: a beautiful example of authentic Russian culture.

You will feel like a real arctic pioneer riding a snowmobile on the frozen lake of Onega, the second largest in Europe, through the surreal beauty of frozen desert covered with fluffy Russian snow – and there will be plenty of it, for sure, as well as unforgettable memories of your amazing holidays in the heart of the Russian North!
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Start your Russian discovery with our carefully designed city-break packages. We have a variety of tours to suite various interests ranging from general knowledge and culture to specific areas as World War II and Soviet history.

The actual length of the Trans-Siberian Railroad is over 9,288 kilometres, covering nearly all Eurasia. It's the longest railway on the planet running through two continents: Europe and Asia; passes through 3 countries Russia, Mongolia and China.

All Inclusive Russian river cruise holidays: sail between Moscow & St. Petersburg or along the Volga.

Based on our extensive experience in the region we have selected the most exciting routes served by the reputable Russian river cruise companies and all our river cruises are on modern comfortable vessels featuring traditional atmosphere.

Go beyond big cities for a chance to discover great cultural and natural heritage of Russia. If you are ready to leave the beaten path for a new type of travel experience, your trip with us will leave you with unforgettable memories.

According to the Russian legislation foreign tourists travelling on ferries may arrive in St. Petersburg without Russian visa for the period of 72 hours. Go Russia have designed various itineraries compliant with the regulations above and we invite you to visit St. Petersburg and Moscow arriving in Russia by St. Peter Line ferry from Helsinki.